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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Philippa Perry

My wife glazes over when I talk about my writing. How can I come to terms with her indifference?

Writing text document, online content, book, letter or essay. Writer, journalist or freelance columnist with laptop. Resume, news article, report.2T7F7G4 Writing text document, online content, book, letter or essay. Writer, journalist or freelance columnist with laptop. Resume, news article, report.
‘You need to be seen for who you are, not because of what you produce’: Philippa Perry. Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/Alamy

The dilemma I am a 53-year-old husband, happily married for 10 years. Everything is as good as it could be, but I sometimes feel like a neglected housewife living in the 1950s, while the “husband” (my wife) is ignoring the real me – and that real me is a writer.

I write anything and everything from novels to TV shows to poems to jokes – and I love all of it. I work part-time and mostly I’m a stay-at-home father while my wife earns the larger salary. We’re just getting by financially, but we are happy and open with one another about everything. Regarding my home duties, I feel wholly appreciated, yet whenever I mention my writing, my wife quickly changes the subject or gets a glazed look in her eyes. At times, she even struggles to stifle a yawn. She’s never shown an interest and has hardly read anything I’ve written.

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